N3.4bn Judgment Debt: Accountant-General Did Not Contradict Makinde, Says Oyo Gov’t

The Oyo State Government has clarified that the Accountant-General of the state, Mrs. Kikelomo Adegoke, did not contradict Governor Seyi Makinde’s stance on the payment of judgment debt to the dismissed local government chairmen and councillors.

The clarification is contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Governor, Mr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, in Ibadan on Monday.

Olanrewaju noted that there were reports in a section of the media misrepresenting the contents of a letter sent to some banks by the accountant-general, claiming that she contradicted the governor’s stance that the state had no money to defray the judgment debt.

He said the letter sent to the banks in respect of the garnishee order placed on the state’s account in 10 commercial banks by a Federal High Court in Abuja in December 2023 was consistent with Makinde’s position.

He added that the Oyo State Joint Local Government Allocation Account, held with First Bank of Nigeria, had already been subjected to a lien amounting to N3,425,300,000, equivalent to the judgment debt.

“In the letter, the accountant-general informed the affected banks that the Oyo State Joint Local Government Allocation Account domiciled with First Bank of Nigeria, had already been put on lien to the tune of N3,425,300,000, being the total amount of the judgment debt.

“Having adequately provisioned for the debt, it is, therefore, both unconscionable and inequitable for nine other banks to do the same in the circumstances. This is, in fact, consistent with Gov. Makinde’s position,” he said.
He stressed that the governor’s stance was to ensure the proper legal process was followed before disbursing the state’s funds to avoid incorrect payments.

Olanrewaju also denounced misleading reports suggesting the state would not pay the debt owed to the former local government chairmen dismissed by the Makinde-led administration. He clarified that the governor’s intent was to follow legal procedures to prevent the state’s funds from reaching the wrong recipients.

Olanrewaju said what the governor said regarding the judgment debt was that the process of the law would be followed to a logical conclusion to avoid paying the state’s money to wrong people.

“For the avoidance of doubts, Gov. Makinde has not said that the state will not pay the judgment debt nor did he say the state does not have the funds to pay.

“Rather, the position of the governor is that the whole process of the law must be pursued to a logical conclusion before the money is paid to avoid the state’s fund getting into the wrong hands,” he said.

NAN